This disclosure relates to methods of servicing a wellbore. More specifically, it relates to methods of servicing a wellbore to remove mineral scale deposits from a surface associated therewith.
During the production stage of a wellbore, fluids (e.g., gas, oil, steam, hot water, etc.) are generally produced from the wellbore, and scale can develop in the wellbore, subterranean formation and/or on equipment associated with the wellbore, such as downhole equipment (e.g., casings, production tubing, mandrels, pipes, pumps, etc.) and surface equipment (e.g., pumps, heating turbines, heat exchangers, etc.). Whenever the wellbore produces water, or when water injection is used to enhance the recovery of the natural resource, there typically is the possibility that scale will form. Scale may have an adverse effect on several aspects of a wellbore's completion and production stages, from inhibiting the performance of downhole tools to inducing formation damage and plugging of associated equipment, whether such equipment is located downhole or at the surface of the wellbore. Scale may block flow of the natural resources by clogging perforations or forming a thick lining in the production tubing. Scale can also coat and damage wellbore equipment, such as heating turbines, heat exchangers, safety valves, casings, production tubing, mandrels, pipes, separators, pumps, etc.
If the scale is not removed, the wellbore capacity production can diminish drastically, and in some cases scale deposits can cause the wellbore production to be shut down for a period of time. As such, scale deposits may be removed to allow the unimpeded flow of natural resources through the wellbore. Some scales, such as for example silica scale, can be typically removed by dissolution with harsh acids, which can have corrosive effects on the wellbore equipment and may damage the formation. Thus, an ongoing need exists for compositions that are less damaging to metallurgical surfaces and methods of removing mineral scale deposits using such compositions in a wellbore, subterranean formation and/or equipment associated with the wellbore.